Day 7 - 54 Square, Mt Laoshan, Home

Today we woke up early to visit the May Fourth Square (五四广场). It is a large public square in Qingdao's central business district. It is located between the new municipal government building and Fushan Bay. Named after the nationwide protest movement that started in Qingdao, the square is best recognized by the large "May Wind" (五月的风) sculpture near the seaside. The square is a popular tourist destination, and is bordered by the city government to the north, the sea to the south, and residential and commercial buildings on either side.

The red sculpture at the back is "May Wind"

Along with Beijing's hosting of the Olympics, Qingdao was the host city for the Olympic Sailing competitions which took place along the shoreline by the city.
We could only see the stadium from a distance at the May Fourth Square as the stadium was out of bounds.

Before we left the square, we saw an old man practicing his calligraphy on the ground. However, he uses water as ink and the calligraphy pen was a stick with sponge.. We marvelled at his writing. Real nice and of course, it's environmental friendly as no paper or ink were wasted.. Interesting! He wrote “观海听涛”which means admiring the sea and listening to the waves..

We proceeded to Laoshan (Chinese: 崂山;Mount Lao) which is a famous mountain in Shandong. It lies about 30km east of the city of Qingdao, and is an important tourist destination. It is the highest coastal mountain in China, peaking at 1132.7 meters. It is known as the birthplace of Taoism.

After which, we went to the airport for a flight to Beijing. As the Olympics came to a close, the Paralympics were about to start. Then we saw the mascots for the Paralympics which is called "福牛".

P.S.: Anyway after the transit flight from Shandong to Beijing, we realised that the flight from Beijing to Singapore was delayed due to the bad weather. :(

However, we were happy to be back in Singapore! The trip was an eventful and enriching one for all of us. We had shared our experiences with all of you and we hope you all have learnt something from our blog.

Till then, our blog will be updated next year when we bring students to China!

See ya next year!!

Day 6 - Qingdao

Today after breakfast, we arrived at Qingdao at ard noon time.. We visited the Qingdao Beer Factory.. It's has a museum in it and we were showed around the factory.. We tried fresh beer that had not been filtered and hmmm.. it tastes good.. Then we went into this room called “醉酒屋” where you will have the feeling of being drunk when u are in it..

This is an interesting sculpture of Qingdao beer..

This is a 100 year old machinery.. That guy is a dummy by the way..

The company is very particular about recycling and making full use of the resources. Therefore, most of the company's by-products will be manufactured into other useful products. For eg, the left over malt roots are being converted into food for pigs.

Every 1 sec, a carton of beer can be packed.. That's how fast machinery can be..

This is the house i was talking about just now.. The teachers who went in went topsy turvy and was feeling "drunk".. We were laughing non-stop inside but the pictures.. ahem.. Sorry girls, not for your viewing.. Hee.. Teachers, we will show it to you some other day!

After the factory, we visited a Catholic church however, it was closed for renovation.

The buildings in Qingdao is very different from the ones we see in China.. This's because Qingdao was under the colonial rule of the Germans.. The German Imperial government planned and built the first streets and institutions of the city we see today, including the world-famous Qingdao Brewery.

Guess what the people are doing?

Day 5 - School Visit and Weifang

Today we visited the last school of our trip.. Chun Hui Xiao Xue （春晖小学）.. This school buiding is very new as it's only 3 years old..

The front entrance of the school..

We played games with the P2 children during their 10min break.. They are such adorable and bubbly kids.. :P

With the kids and the teachers..

With the Principal, VP, parents, teachers and us..

After the school visit, we took a 2.5hrs bus trip to Weifang, which is the traditional kite making culture village.. We saw various kites and chinese mask..

This is 600 years old tree since the Ming dynasty..

Do you know? This tree trunk is hollow.. It got its nutrients from the bark and roots..

This kite is special as there a drum and gong on the body of the kite so when the kite flies up, there will be a stick hitting on the drum and gong..

This is a very big gold fish kite...

A dragon kite..

There're a variety of kites for sale here and most of them are very beautiful..

Some of the kites need 10 over people to fly and some even need a truck to fly it..

We bought some kites back for display at the Chinese room, you can take a look when school reopens..

Tomorrow we will be going to Qingdao.. Till then!! :P

Day 4 - School Visit in Dongying

We visited 2 schools in Dong Ying today.. The 2 schools are Shi Yan Xiao Xue (实验小学) and Dong Ying Yi Zhong (东营一中) which is a full school..

This is Shi Yan Xiao Xue..

With the P, VP, AM and our teachers at the front gate..

Students listening intently and attentively to the teacher during class..

Look how straight their back is when they are sitting down...

Dong Ying Yi Zhong.. It's a full school with Primary and Sec School..

The facilities are very well-equipped too..
With P, VP, various officials from the province..

This girl is a Primary 5 student from Dong Ying Yi Zhong.. She is a very confident girl who performed Latin Dance in front of us... She is also very bubbly and friendly girl.. :)

We are very impressed by the schools we visited today.. Tomorrow we will visit another school before proceeding to Weifang, the place for kites..

Day 3 - Mt Taishan

Today we visited Mt Taishan. The weather is very good today as it's not that warm..
We took a mini bus then change to cable car up to the mountains. The temperature up at the mountain is much cooler than it is downhills..

This is the "nan tian men".. "Tian Jie"
Mt Taishan ranks first in China's five sacred mountains.
Along the way, we took some fun shots.. This is Mdm Jin and Mrs Sze Toh trying to poke the little man.. :PMs Chng trying to eat the people..
The carvings on the rocks are carved in the ancient times when the emperors go up to pray.
We were so happy when we reached the peak..
This is one of the pine trees we see along the way..

We saw so many doggies along the way.. Alot of puppies.. so cute..

Day 2 - Confucius

We went to hometown of Confucius. Since ancient times, Qufu has had flourishing culture and many historical celebrities such as Confucius and Mencius were born here.

We visited the Temple of Confucius. Located at the centre of Qufu City, also known as the Sacred Temple, it was in various dynasties, a place for worshipping Confucius. First constructed in 478 B.C. – the temple was constantly renovated and expanded to its present size in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties with an area of 96,000 square kilometers. The temple consist of 466 halls, pavilions, altars and towers. The temple of Confucius, the Imperial Palace in Bejing and the mountain resort in Changde are known as the “three major complexes” of ancient architectural structures in China.

After which, we visited the Kong family mansion. It is the place where descendants of Confucius lived and handled affairs. It's the most typical architectural of the feudal society integrating offices and residences, and it's a magnificent noble's residence. Next to the Imperial Palace in Beijing, hence the name “No. 1 residence on Earth”.

After lunch, we visited the cemetery of Confucius and his descendants. Also known as the cemetery of the greatest sage, this special cemetery for Confucius and his descendants stand outside of the northern gate of Qufu. With an area of 2 million square metres, the cemetery includes over ??? tombs of the descendants of Confucius. It's the largest, oldest and best-preserved family cemetery and the large man-made garden in China.

Guess the number of tombs in the family cemetery..

Taking the tram around the cemetery of Confucius.
We were eating "brown tissue paper" for appetisers happily..

Day 1 - At the airport

We arrived at the airport at 10pm. Mrs Seah came and she kindly bought everyone of us chocolates from Cocoa Tree for Teachers' Day!! So sweet of her..

Mrs Seah sending us off

Group photo before we leave

We arrived at the Beijing Airport and Mrs Sze Toh discovered the FUWA!!! She screamed and ran towards it.. Following behind are the teachers..

The first stop we went to after we check in to the hotel was the Baotu Spring （趵突泉）.. The "bubbling waters" u see in the picture are the "eyes" of the spring.

The teachers enjoying the dip in the cooling spring water..
Especially Mrs Wong! Look at her candid reaction!!

The interesting fact about this spring is that the water remains at 18 degree celcius throughout the year even in winter!

Guess why we are doing this? :P